


TANSTAAFL

by CatMoran (akaCat)



Category: The Sentinel
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2000-06-24
Updated: 2000-06-24
Packaged: 2017-10-10 06:21:05
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 540
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/96565
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/akaCat/pseuds/CatMoran
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>This takes place just after Blair's freshman year of college.</p>
            </blockquote>





	TANSTAAFL

**Author's Note:**

> The title is in honor of the TANSTAAFL SciFi/Writer's Club of Dallas, TX. (Now defunct, as far as I know.)

Blair Sandburg wondered for the hundredth time what the college administrators were thinking. Their decision to close the dorms and cafeteria between semesters put him in a real bind; the money he'd managed to earn outside of the work-study program just wasn't enough to cover food and lodging for a month.

Really, he was lucky to have someplace to stay at all. Mike's last minute decision to go along on his parent's annual trip to Rome had left his room free for the summer, with his share of the rent already paid. And his three roommates seemed to have no objection to the much younger man moving in rent-free for the month of May.

Blair reminded himself of his good fortune as he looked around the tiny, filthy room. He wondered if his dorm room looked this bad to others? He wasn't normally very tidy, but surely his towels found their way to the laundry before they started to mildew. Or at the very least, they were hung from a chair, rather than left to form new civilizations on the bedding.

Blair searched the room for 2 square feet of clear space to set his duffel bag down. Not finding one, he settled for a space on the desk that was occupied by relatively clean papers and the mummified remains of a chocolate snack-cake, which was easily pushed aside.

With his hands free, he was now able to pick up some of the debris scattered across the floor. His first thought was to push as much of it under the bed as possible, but he quickly discovered two problems with that idea. One, the space under the bed was already full--of relatively clean camping equipment, he was relieved to see. And two, closer inspection revealed that most of the clothes which made up the bulk of the mess were *not* clean. And it was one thing to live with his own dirty socks and shorts, but he really thought it was crossing a line to live with someone else's.

A quick search of the room unearthed an unsullied laundry bag, still in its store packaging. As quickly as he could, he shoved the dirty clothes and towels into the bag, then dropped it outside the bedroom door. A quick check of the bed, and he determined that the sheets probably hadn't been changed since Mike moved in nearly a year ago. They were stripped off and joined the laundry bag in the hall.

He checked his pockets, counting out the change and bills. If he was careful, the $19.36 he had would stretch to cover this trip to the laundromat as well as his groceries for the next two weeks. By then he should have the first paycheck from his temp job, and it'd be clear sailing until the university reopened for the summer session.

Blair opened the window and turned on the small desk-top fan to clear the air. He left the door open as he heaved the laundry bag over one shoulder, gathered the bedding with his other arm, and began the 2 block walk to the laundromat. He reflected that Naomi was right, there really was no such thing as a free lunch.

The End


End file.
